Violent Brawl Highlights Perth Bus Security

It started with racial abuse then continued with a tirade of explicit language and threatening gestures, and ended in an all-out brawl.

Robyn Preston, WA Today

The violent footage, taken by a passenger on a Transperth bus, shows a verbal altercation that spiralled into a punch-up between two women.

It appears the incident was sparked after one of the woman confronted the other over racial comments made toward another passenger.

Within minutes the argument became physical and a fight broke out.

As passengers quickly move to get out of the way, the women can be seen slapping and hitting each other on the floor of the bus.

The clip ends with one woman pinning down another in the aisle and hitting her repeatedly, it is understood that they both got off the bus soon after.

Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes has told Fairfax Media that the bus driver followed safety protocols.

Mr Hynes said it was the PTA's "clear position" that "passengers should be able to undertake their journey without being intimated or offended by language and behaviour such as that depicted".

A situation which is common on Perth buses, according to Kevin Starr bus industry organiser of the WA Transport Workers Union.

"It's not unusual. This sort of punch-up would happen at least weekly, maybe even as a daily occurrence on a minor level [such as verbal abuse or spitting]," he said.

Mr Hynes said the incident, which happened on March 5 near Hilton, had been reported to the PTA by the bus driver.

"Speaking generally, in such circumstances the bus driver should not leave his [or her] seat; they should report the incident to their depot.

"One of our Transperth Security mobile patrols would immediately be sent to intercept the bus and, depending on the driver's assessment of the seriousness of the incident, police would also be called," he said.

On this occasion, the driver followed the correct procedure "in reporting it to base," he said.

A duress alarm was activated by the driver, which alerted a mobile security patrol to catch up to the bus as quickly as possible.

Mr Hynes said security officers arrived after the two women had left the bus within 10 minutes of being contacted.

According to Mr Starr, there is a lack of mobile security on call to protect bus passengers and drivers.

He said that buses make about 13,000 trips daily, yet the PTA employes about 84 security bus guards with 16 fleet vehicles.

Mr Starr said there is not enough mobile security to manage violence on public transport - a claim that is disputed by the PTA.

Mr Hynes said the PTA uses "intelligent driven policing" which meant they concentrate security where it is needed.

"There is not going to be issues with the vast majority of bus trips," Mr Hynes said.

He said the issue of safety on public transport is becoming a concern for "more and more people."

"The perception is that they are frightened to travel on public transport, especially at night," said Mr Starr.

Mr Hynes said the PTA does "whatever we can" to ensure the safety of the public.

"The safety of passengers is best preserved by getting security there as quickly as possible," he said.

Mr Hynes said the fight was not reported to police and none of the passengers had submitted a complaint to the PTA.